877.M5HELP3Protravel International upgrades all of its US Locations to M5 Voice as a Service (VaaS)
The retail travel company uses M5 to support its remote workers and recruit the best talent
The Challenge:
Protravel International is a Manhattan based retail travel company that provides travel services to corporate and leisure clients. With 22 locations, 50 off-net users and a network of over 700 phones, investment in a technology upgrade for their old system was a priority for the firm. Each of the locations had an independent phone system that was outdated, which resulted in disconnected offices and a stack of bills at the end of the month. In an industry that is still heavier on the phones than they are on email for communication with clients, a reliable and flexible solution was imperative. Protravel International is committed to providing white glove service to its high profile clients at all times and therefore employees needed 24-hour access to their phones, a capability that their old phone system could not support. Protravel International CTO Lou Moran was looking to establish a stronger IT infrastructure for the agency to accommodate the needs of the company’s rapid growth. Protravel International knew that they needed the best tools in order to retain the best talent in a competitive industry with a high turnover rate and were therefore looking for a communications solution that could support remote agents with virtual office capabilities that allowed for optimal productivity.
The Solution:
Moran took 18 months to evaluate 30 different vendors and came across M5 through client and vendor recommendations. He made the decision to go with M5 because he was impressed with their fully serviced outsourced solution and felt that they were technologically equipped to handle the entire upgrade. Once Moran made the decision, the implementation process began immediately. M5 gave training sessions in every Protravel International location before they installed the phones and helped each location prepare and correct their network; implementation finished on schedule to the day. Employees were extremely happy with the solution, as it provided them with the flexibility to work remotely from anywhere and forward calls to their cell phones using M5’s find-me-follow-me features.
The Results:
Protravel International was able to condense down to a single monthly phone bill and save $20,000 per month by streamlining their phone systems with M5 Voice as a Service. As a result of implementing M5, Protravel International is able to support a new division called Virtually Pro, which allows high-level corporate agents to work from home while maintaining the same functionalities that they would have in an office. The agency is able to recruit high caliber talent with this new capability and therefore gain a competitive advantage over other agencies. Since the implementation of the M5 phones less than a year ago, Protravel International has added 75 people to the company; a high growth rate that Moran attributes in large part to the technological advances provided by M5. The find-me-follow-me feature is particularly popular with the agents, as it gives them the ability to forward calls to mobile phones and work when weather won’t permit travel. Protravel International’s offices easily communicate with one another instantly, and conference calls, caller id, and call routing features are accessible and easy to use. As their business continues to thrive, new staff members are accommodated easily with M5 Networks’ reliable technology. During the recent California wildfire disaster, Protravel International’s San Diego branch office was forced to evacuate the building. Due to this disruption, many businesses in the area had to shut down business operations. Protravel International was able to avoid disaster thanks to the flexibility of its M5 phone system, which allowed the 10 employees to work from home and login to their computers remotely. M5 re-routed the main line within minutes to another branch office in Palm Desert California, ensuring that call flow was not disrupted. Employees from the San Diego office were able to retrieve voicemails thanks to M5’s Embedded Continuity, which helps businesses develop emergency communication strategies in order to avert disaster in crisis situations. The San Diego office was able to immediately resume normal businesses operations when they returned to the building by contacting M5, who simply re-routed the main line back to the San Diego location.
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